The Captain and the Doctor
by annas96
Summary: Eleven and Clara are headed for a gorgeous diamond planet but wind up landing the TARDIS on the Enterprise accidentally. It turns out the Doctor and Captain Kirk are old friends and Kirk needs the Doctor to help him solve the mysterious malfunctions of the Enterprise.
1. Chapter 1

**These characters are not my own. All rights go to Star Trek (Paramount) and Doctor Who (BBC) Also this has an M rating because Bones curses in one of the later chapters but there is no smut. **

* * *

As flying nannies go there have been only two worthy of noting. The first of course is Mary Poppins. Unfortunately Ms. Poppins loses the flying nanny competition to Clara Oswin Oswald who is currently piloting the TARDIS through a wormhole in the space-time continuum. A time machine is a great improvement to the floating black umbrella that can't even leave the Earth's atmosphere.

Just a year ago Clara was nothing more than a suburban girl working as a nanny and now she was a time traveler. It was as if reality had tapped her on the shoulder and informed her that it would be taking a year off to relax in the Bahamas. Now her only worry was if and when reality would be back again.

It had taken months of her badgering the Doctor to let her fly the TARDIS and weeks of training. The Doctor wanted to be certain that Clara wouldn't hurt his "darling girl" and that she knew how to pilot her gently and with care.

In the meantime Clara had been studying up. When she wasn't running for her life from aliens she was reading the TARDIS operations manual. Of course she couldn't read the whole thing so she studied the abridged version which had enough information to fill a moderately sized home rather than the complete version which had enough information to fill a moderately sized planet. She had made detailed drawings of every, lever, button, pulley, sensor, screen and doo-dad on the control panel. She had highlighted her copy of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, especially the map. This nanny from suburbia could name for you every star system in the galaxy and every galaxy in the known universe.

"Doctor? Are you sure these are the right coordinates? Because according to my maps the diamond planet of Krai Tai is located at 70'4 in the alpha quadrant of the galaxy not 60'4 in the gamma quadrant."

"Clara, How long have I been flying the TARDIS for?"

"900 years?"

"Don't you think I should know how to locate a planet by now?"

"Yes I think you should know. But the problem is you don't."

"Well there's no need to get sassy."

The TARDIS jerked to a stop sending the Doctor and Clara flying to the ground.

"See?" said the Doctor, popping up from under the control panel, his shaggy hair having flown across his forehead during the landing "We've landed. Told you I knew how to find Krai Tai."

"If this is Krai Tai."

"It is! Now just materialize her nice and gently and we'll be off."

Clara pressed a combination of buttons on the control panel and the TARDIS let out it's familiar whine of materialization.

The Doctor skipped to the door. "Now," he said, "I give you Krai Tai. The only planet in the galaxy with a surface made of pure diamond." He threw open the door with a flourish of his wrist and beams of white light expanded throughout the TARDIS.

In that moment Clara's stomach dropped. She was conflicted. Which would be more satisfactory? Seeing a planet whose surface was composed entirely of Earth's rarest substance? Or proving the Doctor wrong?

In a moment her eyes adjusted and she stepped forward. The Doctor was bent in a grandiose bow, his hands outstretched.

"Your diamond planet. mi'lady," he said with a smirk.

Clara stepped across the threshold. Wherever she was it certainly had a shine to it. A shine almost but not quite entirely unlike diamond. She was in the hallway of a large starship from the looks of it. A group of about ten crewmen, dressed in colored uniforms, had gathered to gape open mouthed at the blue box that had just materialized before them.

The Doctor stuck his head out the door. Looking around his face slowly wrinkled in disbelief.

"Wha- I don't- But this should be-The floor! It's not-" he stammered.

Clara tapped the floor with her foot, "Linoleum, Doctor. Linoleum."


	2. Chapter 2

Clara smirked at the Doctor, "What was that about, knowing how to locate a planet by now?"

"It was a simple miscalculation. Besides it was probably the TARDIS malfunctioning."

"Oh yes of course. Just blame the TARDIS for our own mistakes why don't we?"

The Doctor wagged a finger at Clara "Hey I-"

"Excuse me!" one of the crewman pipped up.

"Yes,"said the Doctor and Clara together.

"Uh. Well. How-. Wha-" the crewman stammered. The crewman was Doctor Leonard McCoy and he was not used to people actually listening to him. On top of that his favorite pastime was having an argument and when the possibility of having an argument was thrown out the window he became quite befuddled.

" Who-Who are you?" he decided finally that "who" would be a good place to start.

"Oh yes! Introductions. I almost forgot. Where are my manners?" the Doctor pranced up to McCoy and shook his hand vigorously with a wave of excitement that is usually reserved for children.

"Hello, I'm the Doctor and this is Clara, my companion, my right hand lady if you will." Clara smiled and nodded politely while McCoy's confusion escalated into frustration. It seemed as though he may get to have his argument after all, because no one, no one, gets to beam aboard the USS Enterprise and start prancing around like they're Jim Kirk. How did these two even get on here? They weren't even in the transporter room? The whole thing was all completely illogical.

"Listen here-"

"Oh," said the Doctor pointing at the insignia on McCoy's uniform "Starfleet ship yes? Oh I love Starfleet, really great, great chaps. Clara! Look! They're part of Starfleet."

"Starfleet?" said Clara

"Yes. It's an organization, part of the United Federation of Planets. Basically they're the smartest commanders, scientists, and engineers this side of the galaxy. They travel through the universe exploring new life and new civilizations, conducting peace missions, and most importantly," the Doctor cleared his throat dramatically, "Boldly going where no man has gone before!" he said in a deep voice with a wave of his hand.

"So it's like traveling with you except a lot more organized,"

"Oi,I'm doing my best."

"Now, I've had enough of this!" Even McCoy was stupefied in the Doctor's presence but at last he found the courage to start a good argument. "Who are you? Why are you here? and most importantly how did you get here? You can't just beam aboard a Federation ship without authorization!"

"Ahh but you can if you have a TARDIS." said the Doctor with a grin.

McCoy turned to a red-shirted woman, "Alert the captain of this man's arrival at once. " he turned back to the Doctor, "What did you say your name was?"

"Oh, the Doctor."

"Do you think you're being funny? What is your name? Doctor who?"

"Oh it's just Doctor,"

"Listen, Mr. I spent a good portion of my years in medical school before I wound up on this god-for-saken ship and I know who's a doctor and who's not and you, my friend, are not one, so you better give me your real name and who you're working for or I and the captain will not be happy. "

"Oh think of me more as a freelancer."

"Are you with the Klingons?," said McCoy grabbing the Doctor by the collar.

"Hey, watch it!" said Clara asserting herself between McCoy and the Doctor. With an intense glare from Clara McCoy dropped the Doctor.

"The Klingons? God no, they're some nasty fellows aren't they," the Doctor said as he smoothed his shirt and straightened his bow-tie , "No you see we're just travellers. Just passing through. If we could speak to the captain-"

"Oh you'll speak to the captain alright," said McCoy

At that moment a man in a gold shirt came swaggering around the corner. His face was locked in an annoyed frown but nevertheless there was a glow to him. He was attractive and confident but friendly and approachable. He had the kind of face that made you want to trust him with your life.

"Now what I want to know is how these hooligans managed to beam aboard a Federation ship without authorization," he was saying to his pointy-eared companion.

"His ears, Doctor" Clara whispered into the Doctor's ear.

"He doesn't like you to make fun of them."

"You know him?"

"Well, I will know him. We crossed paths in a few years."

By now Clara had gotten used to the Doctor making outrageous statements like this. The great thing about time travel is that the rules of grammar are much more fluid and you can say things like, I will know him yesterday, or I have known him tomorrow.

But the Doctor had stopped looking at the pointy-eared crewman and saw only the man in the gold shirt, his old friend, his companion in the truest sense of the word. He had known him when he was much younger, when he was just a boy on a farm in Iowa, when he didn't know how great he was, when he thought the universe ended with the edge of the cornfield, and the horizon was infinity.

"Jim!" called the Doctor. There was a quality in his voice when he called Jim's name. It had the authority of a father, the leadership of an older brother, the compassion of a best friend and the longing of an old friend who had been away for far too long.

" Doctor!" said Jim as a boyish grin flew across his face.

The two ran up and embraced, while Bones, Clara and McCoy stood back sensing that they were suddenly unnecessary and their presence awkward.

"How've you been? Still traveling the universe in that tin can?" asked Kirk.

"Hey!" shouted the Doctor, "Don't call her that. She's sensitive," he said rubbing the TARDIS.

Kirk rolled his eyes "Calm down. I was only kidding."

"So I see you're working for Starfleet now?"

"Yep. Captain of the USS Enterprise, on a five year mission."

"I'm proud of you, Jim."

They had come full circle. At their last meeting Kirk had run away to the stars with the Doctor. But that was not his journey to take, Kirk had to find his own way to the stars. And now, twenty years he had found his place in the stars. The Doctor could only smile at the brilliance of humanity.

"Oh," said Jim finally, "This is my first officer, Mr. Spock, and I believe you've met Dr. McCoy, chief medical officer."

"Oh yeah we've met him. The one who likes to grab people by their collars."

"This is Clara," said the Doctor, "My compan-"

"I'm his first officer," said Clara, reaching out to shake the captain's hand.

"Oh, I like that," said the Doctor.

"I must ask, captain, how do you two know each other?" said Spock

"Well," said Jim, "Why don't you tell him Doctor?"

"It's not my story to tell, captain."

Jim sighed, "I knew him for a time, when I was a boy. He's the one who taught me how to fly."

"But you learned how to fly at the academy, captain." said Spock.

"Not truly fly.''

"I'm afraid I don't quite understand, captain"

"Forget it, it doesn't matter. So what brings you here anyway, Doctor?" asked the captain.

"Well I was trying to take Clara, here, to the diamond planet."

"Krai Tai? Oh it's beautiful you really must see it some time if you haven't," Jim said to Clara with a smirk and a wink.

"Well we would have if this one was able to read a map."

"Hey, I've travelled with this guy, you don't need to tell me about his terrible sense of direction." Jim and Clara laughed and snickered at the Doctor.

"Ok, ok, before we turn this into a giant let's-all-laugh-at-the-Doctor-for-his-poor-sense-o f- direction-party can I point out how incredibly lucky we were to land here. I mean, to land at a random point in space and it just happen to be Jim Kirk's ship? What are the odds of that?"

"Actually, Doctor we were about to jump to warp speed but it seems our engines are down, we're running on backup power, so it was incredibly lucky that you showed up when you did." said Jim

"Ahh. See Clara we came at the right time!"

Suddenly the lights flickered.

"And on top of that we've been having problems with the electricity for hours."

"Well to the engine rooms then? Eh captain? For old times sake?"

Kirk smirked at the Doctor, "After you. "

"Come on Clara, you may not get a diamond planet but you get to explore a star ship."

"Spock, Bones, you coming?" asked the captain

"In a minute, Jim" said McCoy.

The three stalked off while McCoy and Spock stayed behind.

"Who is this character? And how the hell does Jim know him?" asked McCoy.

"He seems to be from Jim's past. A past that we aren't aware of yet. It is odd Jim hasn't told us. We are his friends."

"Am I sensing jealousy from you Spock?" the two started to follow Jim, Clara and the Doctor.

"Not at all, I am merely expressing the logical conclusion that humans have the overwhelming need to tell their friends about their pasts, that is all."


	3. Chapter 3

If a crewman ever doubted what they were doing in space, if they ever wondered what was the point of it all or why they couldn't go back to Earth and have a normal life, a risk free life, a life where you weren't surrounded by death, the captain would bring them to the engine room. No one entered the engine room for the first time without losing their breath. The room transcended infinity. Massive white turrets crisscrossed forever, all supporting a colossal engine which in itself was a monument, a work of art displayed in the belly of the ship. Kirk would take the crewman by the shoulders, point to the engine and say "That is why you are here, because all of humanity has built this to get you here. From the first man who walked out of a cave in search of something better, to the one who said "hey what if we sailed west?", to the person who tightened the screws on this very hull, it has all been about one thing; curiosity. And for you to turn back now, to refuse to boldly go, to go back to living on our blue-green speck is to turn your back on your race."

When Clara entered that room she couldn't keep her breath either. She had seen great spaceships before (was there a spaceship greater than the TARDIS?) but they had all felt alien, or fantastic. But this one had that indescribable but distinct quality of having been made by humans.

Even the Doctor, the 900 year old timelord who had seen it all, twice, was awe-struck.

"Oh, humans, you beautiful things you," he said under his breath.

"What was that?" asked Kirk.

"Nothing. Where shall we begin, captain?" he said with a smile.

"Mr. Scott!" called out Kirk.

"Aye, captain, I'm over here!" called Scotty who was at the base of the massive engine, a red speck in the distance.

"Did you find anything yet?"asked Kirk, walking over.

"No," replied Scotty, "I'm about to look at the warped core."

"Ah. I love a good warped core," said the Doctor.

"Who's this?" asked Scotty.

"This is the Doctor. Doctor this is Mr. Scott, chief engineer. "

"Hello, hello," said the Doctor.

"Captain, if you don't mind me asking, where'd he come from?"

"Don't worry about it Mr. Scott. We could use his help"

"Now where is this warped core?" asked the Doctor, rubbing his hands together with a grin. Scotty frowned, reluctant to give this stranger so much information.

Scotty pointed to a glass case behind him that housed a glowing blue tower.

"Ah," said the Doctor, "Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. You've got a real beauty on your hands here Mr. Scott."

"Uh, if you say so lad."

The Doctor approached the glass room pulling out his sonic screwdriver.

"Captain, shouldn't we let Mr. Scott examine it first?" asked Spock.

"Now, look here Jim, I can tolerate a lot of what goes on on this ship, but I cannot tolerate a stranger showing up and pushing his nose around. And what if he opens up the reactor and gets us all killed?"

"It's alright gentleman. He has my complete trust."

Spock and Bones fell silent, when someone had Jim's complete trust, he had their complete trust. Their silence was soon filled by the whir of the sonic screwdriver and then a click as he examined the findings.

"Well," it's quite obvious why this ship can't go to warp speed: there is no anti-matter in your reactor."

"What?" said Kirk,

"I checked the core hours ago, captain," said Scotty, "There was plenty of anti-matter."

"Doctor, the idea that the anti-matter just disapeared is illogical. In fact it's impossible." said Spock.

"I don't agree with Mr. Spock often, but I'll have to make an exception. Why should we trust the reading on your little thing there anyway?" said McCoy

"Oi, it's called a sonic screwdriver not a 'little thing' and if there was anti-matter, could I do this?" the Doctor lifted off the top of the warp core.

The crew gasped, expecting a lethal explosion. Although Spock and McCoy were relieved that they weren't dead from an extreme amount of radiation they were still quite annoyed that this "Doctor" proved to be right.

"I don't understand," said Kirk, "Who could just walk off with anti-matter? It would react instantly and explode unless you had dilithium crystals."

"Not just dilithium crystals," said the Doctor.

"What do you mean?" said Clara.

"In the entirety of space-time there are two substances that won't react with anti-mater. One is dilithium crystals, the other is dalekanium."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Kirk's communicator beeped and he flipped it open. Uhura rarely sounded afraid even in the most dangerous times, but this time was an exception.

"Captain, get to the bridge, now. These metal pod things are attacking the ship. We've lost two men already."

"Ok I'm on my way." His voice was calm but the Doctor could see the fear in his eyes.

"Daleks," said the Doctor. The previous energy in his voice was gone, it had morphed into solemnity.

Without another word the group took off for the bridge.

"Doctor, if I may ask, what are these Daleks?" asked Spock

"Uh you know, just your typical cyborgs."

"Then what is there to fear?" asked McCoy

"I'm lying, Dr. McCoy they're the most hostile beings in the universe. They've eliminated all emotion." The Doctor got a curious look from Spock. "All emotion except hate he continued."

"Clara!" shouted the Doctor as he stopped running.

"What?" asked Clara

"You have to stay here. You can't fight the Daleks."

"What? Why not? I'm perfectly capable of fighting the Daleks."

"No. I know you're not afraid, but you have to understand, Clara. You were a Dalek in your past life and I can't risk you being," he trailed off "I don't know what will happen when you're near them and I don't want to find out."

"I don't care. I'm not waiting down here while everyone else risks their life it's not fair."

"Love," scoffed Spock to McCoy and Scotty as he observed the scene, "perhaps the most illogical human emotion."

"Doctor," said Kirk calmly, "I have to be prepared to do anything and everything in my power for the safety of my crew, and sometimes that means risking their lives. Let her fight."  
The Doctor nodded. He realized he was being selfish. He may love Clara and she may be a fascinating mystery but her life was not his.

When they arrived at the elevator to the bridge a red shirted crewman was blocking the door.

"Captain. We've gotten everyone out alive with only a few injuries. They're trapped inside."

Before the captain could say anything else, a laser blast came through the door, killing the crewman and blasting open the door. Out rolled three daleks their eyestalks scanning the room frantically until they came to rest on the Doctor.

"DOCTOR!"

The voice of a Dalek is something truly indescribable. It moves beyond the realm of sound and becomes a physical sensation, a saw grating through your bones.

"Yes it's me alright," said the Doctor "You've infiltrated a spaceship, you've killed an innocent man, don't involve them, just deal with me."

"WE MUST KILL THE ONE CALLED KIRK." "EXTERMINATE. EXTERMINATE. EXTERMINATE." The daleks took off firing their lasers and everyone went running in opposite directions. Kirk and the Doctor took off down the left hallway while Spock, Clara and Bones kept running straight ahead.

"Clara!" shouted the Doctor, realizing they had been split up. But as he turned around he saw only a dalek approaching. He shuddered as the memories of the asylum of the daleks resurfaced. He had yearned for Clara but been met with metallic hatred.

Kirk and the Doctor turned the corner running at top speed. "In here," whispered Kirk as he threw open the door to an escape pod and pulled the Doctor in. The two watched as the dalek glided by, unaware.

"Pff. Pretty stupid for a—what did you call them?"

"Daleks. We can't stay here, Jim. I have to get to Clara."

"Doctor if you go out there now that thing will kill you. Are those the things that took the antimatter?"

"Yes. Now shut up I'm thinking."

"Spock wouldn't like this. He'd say it was all illogical. Too much coincidence."

"Sush!"

"No really Doctor. You're TARDIS went wrong. You could have landed at any point in infinite space and time but you land here, just as we were about to take off. If it weren't for those dalek things stealing our anti-matter none of this would have happened."

"Jim!" exclaimed the Doctor as he grabbed Jim's face " Jim Jim Jim Jim Jim! Haha!" he exclaimed and slapped Jim on the cheek. "You're brilliant! Oh," the Doctor's face became concerned "But that is bad oh that is really really really bad."

"Doctor, you're not making sense. Explain!"

"The daleks have no use for anti-matter. They have other methods for space travel."

"So why steal it?"

"There is something else that requires anti-matter. It's the dream of all those who seek power, absolute power in it's absolute sense it's called the Universe Manipulator: The God Machine."


	5. Chapter 5

"Come on. We have to stop them." The Doctor grabbed Jim's hand and pulled him out of the escape pod down the hallway after the dalek.

"But how? Our weapons are useless to them."

"Don't worry, I have a plan."

"Which is?"

"Well, I'm working on it."

But the Doctor hadn't had time to think of a plan before Jim and himself were swept off their feet and pulled backward down the hallway.

"Are the daleks doing this? because they have the universe manipulator?" asked Jim.

In reply the Doctor started spinning around repeatedly as he zoomed through the air.

"Well do you think I would do this to myself Jim?"

They passed by crewmen who had attempted to help but were only thrown against the ship's walls.

The doors to the bridge opened and what Jim saw would haunt him for the rest of his life. The captain's chair was gone and in it's place stood a dalek. All around them were daleks where his crew should be. He had failed as a captain. He had let down his crew and let his ship fall to mutiny. He had allowed his ship to be defiled by hatred. The Enterprise's purpose was once peace, exploration, and curiosity but it now stood for conquest, for genocide, and for hatred.

"What have I done? I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry," and he began to cry.

The Doctor and Jim came to rest in the center of the room. A fire came across Jim's tear-streaked face. He got up with gritted teeth and clenched fists. He would not allow himself to live until every last dalek was killed.

"Jim, no!" shouted the Doctor, pulling him down. "Don't move."

The Doctor pulled out his screwdriver and gave it a whir.

"They have us locked in a powerful force field."

The Doctor stood up and confronted the dalek facing them.

"Of course if anyone would want to build a universe manipulator it would be you metallic cans of evil. But even you must understand the kind of destruction you are going to do. You could erase the universe from ever existing with a single command. The tiniest error could erase your own existence. Isn't that the only thing that matters to you vermin? Your existence?" His voice had escalated into a powerful scream, heavy with his hatred for the daleks.

Jim placed a calming hand on the Doctor's shoulder, silently willing him to calm down.

"Where are you keeping this universe manipulator?" asked Jim.

"ELSEWHERE"

"Oh great thanks, big help there." said the Doctor.

"DOCTOR AND JAMES KIRK. YOU ARE THE ULTIMATE ENEMIES OF THE DALEKS."

"Now wait a minute. What have I done to you?" asked Jim.

"JAMES KIRK WILL BE THE ONE TO KILL THE DALEKS"

"Ok so why hold us here? Why not kill us now?" asked the Doctor

"Don't give them any ideas!"

"WE DO NOT KILL YOU YET IN ORDER TO INFLICT MAXIMUM PAIN."

"What are you going to do? Torture us?" asked Jim.

"WE ARE GOING TO EXPLOIT YOUR WEAKNESS. THE WEAKNESS OF THE TIMELORD'S AND THE HUMANS. LOVE"

"Oh no, no, no, you're not going to." The Doctor's voice shrank into a tremor. " You can't hurt Clara, I won't let you.

"ONCE WE HAVE AQUIRED ENOUGH POWER TO EXTERMINATE, THE HUMAN AND THE VULCAN WILL BE EXTERMINATED AND YOU WILL BE MADE TO WATCH."

To a normal person the thought that your loved ones would be killed when a machine was finished powering up was terrifying but to Kirk and the Doctor it meant hope. It meant there was still time to save them.

The Doctor gave Jim a slight nod, a nod that said, "go ahead with whatever you're thinking, I trust you."

Jim flipped open his communicator and called Spock. He had only moments before the daleks realized what he was up to and stopped it.

"Spock, me and the Doctor are captured and the daleks are coming after you and Clara. You have to get to the Doctor's TARDIS, go back in time and prevent this from happening."

"WHAT IS THIS?" shouted the daleks.

Jim felt his communicator tug away from his hand like it was trying to fly out, but he held onto it with everything he had. It was their one shot, their one ticket to safety, the only hope to save Spock.

"Tell Clara, she'll know how to get there and she'll know how to fly the TARDIS."

He couldn't fight it any more. The communicator shut and flew out of his hand. He felt an intense pressure on the top of his head and everything went black.

The Doctor grabbed Jim just as he was about to fall and laid him gently on the ground. He had been knocked out.

"Jim! No, no, come on, stay with me, I can't do this on my own. I need you."

"You! What did you do to him! I'll kill you, I'll kill all of you!" The Doctor had been transformed. Gone was the kind old man, the protector of the universe and in his place was the raging, vengeful killer.


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry for the delay in updating. I'll be sure to post chapter 7 soon.

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A crewman sat on an operating table with his leg dangling over the side. A deep black crater consumed his ankle. A blue light passed over the wound and the man screamed.

"Oh quit your whining," said McCoy who sat below him. "It doesn't hurt that bad, and if I can freeze the wound it won't hurt at all."

Spock and Clara stood nearby, occasionally interrupting their nervous pacing to glance over at McCoy when the shrieks of pain got particularly loud.

"Spock, have you ever seen things like that before?" asked Bones.

"No. And I am at a loss to determine how to defeat them. Obviously the Doctor is familiar with them. How has he defeated them in the past?"

"I- I don't know," said Clara, "I've never seen them before, and he doesn't like to talk about the past, but I think it might have something to do with me."

"We'll he certainly seemed to think so," said Bones.

"I don't know it's just a feeling I have, like I've seen them in a dream , or in another life."

"Fascinating."

At that moment Spock's communicator rang and he flipped it open.

"Yes, I see," said Spock in a tone usually reserved for commenting on the use of color in a particularly bland piece of artwork.

"The daleks have the captain and the Doctor."

McCoy and Clara gasped.

"You could sound a little more concerned that your captain has been captured by genocidal aliens."

"I was merely trying to remain calm in this difficult situation: the logical course of action."

"Would you two stop bickering? What else did the captain say?"

"He said we should go back to the TARDIS and travel back in time to prevent this from happening. He said you would know how to fly the TARDIS."

"Is he crazy? I can't fly the TARDIS! Today was the first day I flew it and look where we ended up. Besides I don't even know where we are supposed to go."

"The alternative is to do nothing," said Spock.

Clara gave a solemn nod and led McCoy and Spock down the hall towards the TARDIS.

By the time they arrived at the TARDIS Clara had thought of a plan.

"So I was thinking about this Universe Manipulator. It's really special to the daleks right? And it has to be really difficult to build? So they wouldn't just build it anywhere. I'm thinking they built it on their home planet, Skaro."

"A logical conclusion."

Clara directed a small smile at Spock, pleased with his approval but disappointed that he didn't smile in return.

"He called you logical. That is high praise from a Vulcan," said Bones.

"Ok, next step. How do I get into the TARDIS?"

"You don't know how to get in? Oh God, we are doomed," said a panicked McCoy.

Clara grabbed the door handles and pulled and pushed a few times, before sighing in frustration.

"Well how does the Doctor usually get in?" asked McCoy

"Well," said Clara taking a step back, "He usually just does this."

She snapped her fingers and the doors swung open.

"Thanks, girl." She gave the TARDIS a swift stroke as she entered.

Spock and McCoy stood back, staring at the interior of the TARDIS.

"Well don't just stand there come on in."

The two stepped inside, still mesmerized by the TARDIS.

"It's-It's...well it's," McCoy stammered.

"Fascinating," said Spock with a single raised eyebrow. "It is another dimension, correct?"

"Correct, Mr. Spock. Now let's see if I can fly this thing." She rubbed her hands together and skipped over to the control panel where she started to quickly press buttons as McCoy and Spock studied the rest of the interior.

"I just need to look up the coordinates for Skaro and we should be off. Aha found them."

With a pull of a lever, the TARDIS lurched into the time vortex and sent it's makeshift-crew tumbling across the floor.

"Easy, girl."

Clara pulled another lever and heard the familiar materialization noise.

"Now let's see where we are."

She walked up to the TARDIS windows. Spock and McCoy stepped up behind her. They were the kind of men who existed to serve their captain, their best friend and when their captain was no longer around Clara became a convenient substitute.

Outside Clara saw a massive fiery sphere. Even the atmosphere on Skaro was red, which gave off the affect of wispy dust clouds emanating from the planet.

But Skaro wasn't what caught Clara's attention. Orbiting Skaro was a moon, a large black object crisscrossed with bright yellow cracks and fissures.

"What an interesting moon," noted Spock.

"But-but, I've studied Skaro. It doesn't have a moon."

The three exchanged glances. Fear and confusion clouded their eyes as a terrifying thought came to mind.

Bones looked out the window again.

"That's no moon," he said," That's the universe manipulator."


	7. Chapter 7

"Alright," said Clara. She was facing Spock and McCoy, her back pressed to the TARDIS doors. "All we have to do is get in there, figure how this thing works, and shut it down. How hard can it be right?" She gave a nervous chuckle.

"I calculate our chances of survival to be-"

"Shut up! This isn't a time for your damn calculations," said McCoy

"Doctor it continues to baffle me how a man in the medical profession can have such hatred for logic."

"Oi. You two. Focus. We have to get the Captain and the Doctor back. Any ideas?"

"I don't know what we can do other than head out and see what happens," said McCoy

"There is a high probability that that course of action will get us killed."

"Wait! The Doctor has these things that make you invisible but not really invisible. God what are they called? Perception filters! I'll go get them!"

Clara dashed out of the room and returned moments later with 3 dog tags on chains.

"Ok. I've seen him use these things before. Basically you just put them around your neck and you blend in with the environment. It's like other people-or in this case daleks-don't want to look at you."

"Well, that should improve our chances of survival slightly," noted Spock.

Clara skipped up to Spock and McCoy and adorned them with the perception filters,placing the last one around her own neck.

With a deep breath and a courageous step Clara opened the TARDIS doors. The three stepped out to what could only be described as hell. The ground felt metallic but unlike any metal Clara had ever encountered;it was so black she wondered if it was really there at all. Above them, floating in the murky red smog were daleks crisscrossing in all directions. Floating in front of the daleks were parts of the same material the three were standing on.

"They can fly?" whispered Bones.

"And they appear to have the ability to move objects without direct contact, as well," added Spock.

"Ok, this is going to be harder than I thought," said Clara. Terror trembled in her throat.

The three stepped out further onto the planet and began to walk to the right.

"If this thing is designed like any normal space station, then the main power circuits should be in the center," explained Bones.

"If we are able to destroy the main power reactor we will likely destroy the manipulator and we'll be able to free the Captain and the Doctor," added Spock.

"Ah. See you two are pretty smart and useful when you can get along," noted Clara.

They had been walking for about ten minutes when they reached a dark and narrow hallway. Spock pulled out his scanner.

"Scanners show high levels of radiation up ahead. Likely the main power reactor."

"Well I guess we have to go in then," Clara announced.

She peered down the long dim corridor and her voice echoed back.

The three entered the tunnel and they soon noticed that the ground was sloping downward. Spock and Bones had their phasers out and at the ready. Daleks had rolled passed them but none had taken notice of them. It was as if they were invisible.

There were glowing wires along the walls that provided light but they were starting to fade. Fewer and fewer Daleks passed them by as the corridor narrowed. It was clear they were headed to the heart of the universe manipulator where few of the Daleks were authorized to be.

Eventually the lights went out completely. Clara couldn't see 5 feet in front of her and only knew where the others were due to Spock's blinking instruments. As they traveled deeper into the universe manipulator the air grew hot and thick.

"We are getting close. There are high levels of radiation. We won't be able to stay here longer than an hour," said Spock.

"Well we'll just find the reactor, shoot it up and run faster than a rabbit on a light beam," Bones pointed out.

"You speak as if finding a reactor on an alien weapon were an easy task, doctor."

Walking along in the pitch darkness Clara stumbled directly into a metal object about 4 feet high.

"Oof," she exclaimed.

She rubbed her shoulder and started to move around the object when a blue light appeared only inches from the bridge of her nose.

"Spock, is that blue light coming from your phaser or something?"

"No, I'm behind you."

"EXTERMINATE."


	8. Chapter 8

Clara ducked around the dalek and ran down the hallway, barely avoiding the rapid laser beams. McCoy and Spock were close behind her, panting heavily in the thick, hot air.

Spock leaped over a fallen piece of metal and spun around in mid-air, firing his phaser directly at the dalek. For a moment the dalek froze, and it's cries of "EXTERMINATE" were silenced. But the beam of the phaser soon died out and the dalek continued to roll forward. It no longer moved with a fast and precise glide but was slow and silent, like it wanted a closer look at a curious observation .

The dalek rolled up to Clara. She turned around and once again found herself face to face with that intense blue eye. Gone was the hostility and fear the eye once held. The blue bulb flickered ever so slightly and Clara found that there was something almost welcoming about it.

Spock and Bones stood behind the dalek their phasers aimed at it's head and set to kill, but they too felt the change.

"MY VISIONARY SENSORS REPORT THAT YOU APPEAR TO BE HUMAN BUT MY DNA SCANS SAY THAT YOU ARE A DALEK."

"What? I'm not- I can't be. I-I'm not a dalek. That's impossible." Clara felt her fear shift. No longer was she afraid of the daleks killing the doctor, she was afraid of herself killing the doctor. The doctor had mentioned it before. He told her that she was a dalek in her past life and now it had been confirmed by the things had accepted her as one of their own.

She was disgusted with herself. How could she have ever been one of those things? The daleks had committed genocide, they had never loved nor felt compassion, they had neither a brain, nor a heart, and she was one of them.

The overwhelming urge to run came over her. She wanted to run away from herself, to escape her own skin. She wanted to deny that she had any relationship to these ruthless machines but she knew that they were right. She had once been a dalek and she hated herself for it.

Clara felt a cool and calming hand rest on her shoulder. Spock whispered in her ear.

"It would be wise not to deny your identity as a dalek. It may serve a useful purpose."

At this the dalek's noticed Spock for the first time.

"A VULCAN? THE DALEKS HAVE NOT COME ACROSS THE VULCANS IN THOUSANDS OF YEARS WHY IS ONE HERE NOW?"

"I'M TAKING HIM AS PRISONER," announced Clara, doing her best imitation of a dalek. "He um, ACCIDENTALLY CAME THROUGH THE TIME VORTEX."

"PLANET VULCAN IS SEALED OFF FROM THE DALEK TIME STREAM."

"Well, you see, this one sort of slipped out-I mean, THIS ONE SORT OF SLIPPED OUT BECAUSE OF THE um...BECAUSE OF THE TIME STORM." Clara's impression was not enough to convince even the dumbest of daleks.

"YOUR INFORMATION IS INCORRECT. YOU ARE WEAK. YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED."

Clara and Bones ducked just in time to see a blue flash whiz over their heads. Spock on the other hand did not duck. Instead he leapt towards the dalek, placing his hands gingerly around the dalek's head. Spock's presence caused the dalek to quiet.

"What's he doing?" inquired Clara.

"Oh Jesus Christ he's mind-melding again!" complained Bones.

"Sorry. What?" asked a bewildered Clara.

"It's this old Vulcan trick. He can read minds by touching someone's head."

"Well that's good isn't it? Then he can find out how to blow this place up?"

"Except if we wait another ten minutes we're going to pop like popcorn."

Bones wiped at his fore head, the heat was becoming unbearable.

Clara and Bones watched Spock closely. At first he remained silent, his eyes were glazed over, his mind clearly occupying another realm. He began to murmur scattered thoughts, but it was not Spock's voice; it was the voice of the dalek coming through his mouth as though he was being possessed.

"THE KALEDS...WEAK...SUPERIORITY IS LOGICAL."

"Shouldn't we do something to help him?" asked Clara.

"We can't. If we disturb him now he could suffer serious brain damage."

"THE TIME WAR...KILL HIM...THE DOCTOR...EXTERMINATE...EXTERMINATE...UNIVERSE MANIPULATOR...DESTRUCTION PLANS."

At once Spock screamed in agony and clutched at his head, burying his face in his arms. His screams reverberated down the halls. Clara and McCoy stood back, weary of approaching him. In all the years that Bones had known Spock he had never seen such pain coming from the emotionless Vulcan. Even when the Enterprise was in jeopardy Spock remained calm and focused. Bones had lost his captain and now it seemed that he had lost his first officer. It was that blood-curdling scream that made him question if they were going to be able to save the captain after all.

Even Clara, who had known Spock for only a few hours knew that there was something very very wrong. She was afraid to touch him, afraid she might hurt him in his damaged state, or that he might hurt her. What would the Doctor do? she thought. The Doctor would do what he does best, talk.

Clara sat down next to Spock and Spock revealed his face. He had the expression of a small terrified child lost in the rain.

"Spock," she said calmly, " What did it do to you?"

Spock looked at Clara. With a deep breath he had composed himself into the stoic Vulcan once more.

"It is irrelevant now. I'm fine. I know how to destroy the Universe manipulator. And we must move quickly."

He was not the only one who had recovered from the mind-meld. The dalek spun around, it's blue eyestalk alive and glowing.

"INTRUDERS. INTRUDERS. THEY PLAN TO DESTROY THE UNIVERSE MANIPULATOR. THEY WILL BE EXTERMINATED."

Spock dashed out with McCoy and Clara close behind.

"You better know how to destroy this thing before this god-damn metal contraption kills us or we fry to a crisp in this heat." shouted McCoy.

"We've been looking at the situation incorrectly. We can't simply damage the main reactor because that will destroy the power, but leave the anti-matter unaffected."

"So?" asked Clara.

"EXTERMINATE," replied the dalek that was now gaining on them.

"So, we need to get to the anti-matter core in order to-"

The three turned a corner, just in time to see three laser bullets miss their ears by about an inch.

"Damnit man, forget the explanation and just go! go! go!"

They continued to follow Spock through the long and winding tunnel system but Clara and McCoy were finding it difficult to keep up in the hot and heavy air. Vulcan's were much more well adapted to heat and radiation and the dalek was close behind and firing wildly.

"INTRUDERS. EXTERMINATE. EXTERMINATE."

They came to a large, dark circular room with two tunnels branching off left and right and a large, sealed door directly in front of them.

"Why are we stopping?" asked Bones.

"Patience, doctor, I have to open up the door to the anti-matter chamber."

"Patience? You're going to school me on patience. There is a robotic serial killer who wants us dead and we are standing in a fucking microwave!"

McCoy ran up to the large door and shook the handle desperately, while Spock stood back, meditating on how to open the door.

"Ah this door opens with a passcode, that is what those numbers were when I searched the daleks mind," Spock said.

He began to walk over towards the door. At that moment two daleks came rushing out of the two side tunnels.

"INTRUDERS. INTRUDERS. RETRIEVE THE TOP SECRET INFORMATION."

The daleks swarmed Clara and Spock, their plunger arms extended. Before they could even react the large, black cups had obscured their view of McCoy and were only inches from their heads. The plungers latched onto their heads and both cried out. It felt like their minds were being pulled out of their skulls.

McCoy turned back and watched in horror as two plungers latched on to the heads of Spock and Clara and began to expand. He stood frozen, not knowing what to do to save them. He felt an intense rage that he couldn't save them. Kirk would know what to do.

"Bones!" shouted Spock. The plunger was quickly surrounding his face."Open the door, the password is 58916. The number one priority is the captain's safety, not yours, and not mine."

Spock's voice was silenced as his face and mouth were suffocated by the plunger. Even Clara, the strong and resilient impossible girl lay quiet. Her face was a black cone at the end of the arm of a dalek. I failed to save the doctor as a human, perhaps because I never really was human, she thought.

Bones felt tears start to form as he watched the greatest first officer he ever knew, have his mind swallowed up by the embodiment of evil. But Bones clenched his teeth and turned toward the large metal door. He still had a duty to do.

He quickly typed in the passcode and the door swung open to reveal a dimly lit room with cannisters that resembled the warped core of the enterprise. Bones fired a few shots and slammed the door shut. He heard an earth-shattering boom and knew he had only seconds before that blast of energy and light hit him square in the face.

He turned towards Clara and Spock and began to shoot at the daleks plungers, because although Bones had put the life of his captain before his own life and before the life of his first officer, he never, never, never gave up hope that he could save all three.

Surprisingly the plungers melted upon contact with the phaser beams, as though they were made of rubber. Spock and Clara broke free and stood up stumbling and disoriented from the intense suction that only moments ago was trying to such information from their heads.

In their clouded vision they saw a panicked and screaming Bones run towards them.

"RUN, RUN, RUN!" he shouted as he sped past them.

Clara and Spock turned their heads and watched Bones run like his feet were on fire down the hallway.

"I think we better follow him," said Clara.

"Seems logical," said Spock.

And the two ran off down the hallway.


End file.
